Rents have grown as much as 28 percent in the last year over the past year in the neighborhood of Midtown in Houston.
R.A. Schuetz reports from Houston, where Rent.com data shows rents rising fastest in parts of the city deemed in need of a federal tax break meant to create jobs and spur development in low-income neighborhoods.
"The Abbott administration designated the pricey neighborhood [of Midtown] as an Opportunity Zone, an area in need of revitalization, in 2018," according to R.A. Schuetz. But Midtown wasn't alone.
"Midtown and downtown, another Opportunity Zone where rents spiked in the past year, have gentrified so rapidly that had the government used 2017 Census estimates instead of 2015, the areas would not have qualified for the program," according to Schuetz.
FULL STORY: 2 Houston Opportunity Zone neighborhoods saw rents spike
Experts Express Pessimism Over Housing Costs
Although the current housing crisis has been compared with the housing crash of the late 2000s, experts caution that affordability issues could plague the U.S. housing market for years to come.
The Rent Gap Theory
Some urbanism commentators suggest that gentrification is the result of a "rent gap" between actual and potential rent. How should this theory affect zoning policy?
Doubt Cast on Induced Demand for Housing
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
5 New England states march closer to 800 megawatt wind energy project
Securing federal approval for the project may be complicated under the Trump administration, which has historically been hostile towards domestic wind power.
Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project
The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.
Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin
The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association